1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for preventing the theft of motor vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automobile theft is a serious problem, both in the United States of America, and in other industrialized countries. There have been many previous anti-theft devices invented for motor vehicles. The present invention has one preferred embodiment. The anti-theft system is activated and/or deactivated when the owner or authorized user of the vehicle enters a coded key in an electronic ignition, or by other means. Solenoids cause piston rods to pass through openings in the vehicle""s rotor discs when the system is activated, thus preventing the wheels from turning.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,210,640, issued on Jan. 2, 1917, to Leon Goldmerstein, discloses a solenoid actuated rod which locks the brake of an automobile, rather than a rotor disc of an automobile, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,103, issued on Mar. 28, 1972, to Stuart P. Higgs, discloses an automatic brake for a shopping cart, in which an automatic lock is released by a timing mechanism after a predetermined period of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,744,285, issued on Jul. 10, 1973, to Sam Barmherzig, discloses an ignition and hood lock assembly for automotive vehicles, having a solenoid operated hood locking mechanism, but not a solenoid operated wheel locking mechanism, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,824, issued on Jul. 12, 1977, to Harold P. Lucas, discloses a vehicle wheel lock assembly, with retractable rods that fit through circular slots in the wheels to prevent them from turning. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that in it the retractable rods are activated by solenoids when the user enters a secret coded key, and in the preferred embodiment, the rods do not pass through the wheels, but lock the rotor discs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,043, issued on Apr. 22, 1980, to John E. Lankester and Keith T. Flaherty, discloses a lock assembly for a shopping cart to prevent its removal from an authorized area.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,653, issued on May 28, 1985, to Paul B. Smith, discloses an anti-theft lock device for a motor vehicle, which automatically locks the parking brake, until the owner inserts his key and turns the ignition, which causes a solenoid to be activated that retracts the locking mechanism. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that in it the rotor discs are prevented from turning by rods inserted into arcuate recesses in metal disks comprising parts of the wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,880, issued on Mar. 25, 1986, to Eric L. Bianco, discloses a theft prevention apparatus for shopping carts, in which a magnetic field causes a solenoid to move a ball in contact with a pin to lock the wheels of the shopping cart. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it does not rely on the presence of a magnetic field.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,377, issued on Oct. 11, 1988, to Herman C. Jeter, discloses a motor vehicle anti-theft system, where a key switch or magnetically coded card activates or deactivates solenoids that disable functions of the vehicle. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it discloses the insertion of rods into rotor discs to prevent the vehicle""s wheels from turning.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,427, issued on Mar. 13, 1990, to Enneis D. Armstrong, discloses a steering wheel shaft lock assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,490, issued on Jun. 19, 1990, to Deng J. Chang, discloses an anti-roll device for vehicles, which is similar to the instant invention in acting directly on the wheels, but is different in that it only prevents the wheels from turning in one direction, and acts by means of a ratchet rather than by means of rods that are removably inserted into holes in the rotor discs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,201, issued on Jul. 28, 1992, to Darryl L. LaMott and David R. Lee, discloses a vehicle wheel locking assembly, which resembles the instant invention in that a rod or xe2x80x9clocking studxe2x80x9d is inserted into holes in a disk to prevent the wheels from turning. But the present invention is distinguishable, in that it uses solenoids to move the rods, and requires the use of electronically coded keys to activate or deactivate the solenoids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,182, issued on Oct. 18, 1994, to Steven M. Wolfe and John V. Biondo, Jr., discloses a shopping cart theft prevention system, designed to prevent a shopping cart from being moved outside of a defined perimeter. It uses a magnetic brake to gradually stop the wheel from turning, rather than a solenoid activated locking pin, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,212, issued on Jul. 4, 1995, to Kraig J. Schiosser, discloses a parking lock mechanism, designed for electric cars, with locking pins that fit into locking holes in the xe2x80x9cdrive train assemblyxe2x80x9d. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that in it the user enters a secret coded key to release the locking mechanism, and the locking pins fit directly into arcuate recesses in the rotor discs of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,244, issued on Jul. 11, 1995, to Josxc3xa9 D. Possobom, discloses an anti-theft shift-lock for automotive vehicles, which includes locking pins, solenoids and electronic codes, but the locking pins lock the transmission, rather than directly locking the rotor discs as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,183, issued on Aug. 27, 1996, to Harry C. Buchanan, Jr. and Peter S. Zhou, discloses a motor locking unit, in which the motor itself, rather than the wheels, is locked by flexible arms with fingers that engage ridges on a circular member connected to the shaft of the motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,236, issued on Apr. 21, 1998, to Rolf Cremers and Wolfgang Ziegler, discloses an electronic code locking mechanism that can deactivate a motor drive interlock. However, there is no disclosure of rods being inserted into metallic parts of a vehicle""s rotor discs, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,364, issued on Dec. 1, 1998, to Richard D. Oliver, discloses a vehicle immobilizing system, with a solenoid for retracting and extending a retractable shaft that prevents that locks the brake pedal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,751, issued on Dec. 8, 1998, to William Chant, discloses a safety lock for a chain driven machine, which engages sprocket wheels of the machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,940, issued on Jul. 20, 1999, to Gary L. Donatelle, Leonard B. Prusakowski, and Fred H. Bednar, which locks the parking brake of a vehicle when a code is entered using a keypad. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it locks the rotor disc in the vehicle""s wheels.
Japanese Patent No. 58-78847, published on May 12, 1983, invented by Teruyuki Yano, discloses a vehicle anti-theft device, in which an electronically coded card must be inserted into a slot in order to start the engine. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it locks the vehicle""s rotor discs, rather than its motor.
French Patent No. 2 534 205, published on Apr. 13, 1984, invented by Michel Filleul, discloses an anti-theft device for motor vehicles, using an electronic code to deactivate essential components of the motor, while activating an alarm during an attempted break-in. Unlike the instant invention, it does not directly lock the rotor discs.
Japanese Patent No. 4-271203, published on Sep. 28, 1992, inventor Takeshi Ishida, discloses a brake unit for a truck.
International Patent Application No. 93/09981, published on May 27, 1993, to Nam Chae Kim, discloses an auxiliary emergency braking system for automobiles.
Anti-Theft Devicexe2x80x94Discount Form, The Commerce Insurance Company, March 1991, discloses several anti-theft devices on the market, none of which prevent the vehicle""s rotor discs from turning by solenoid-activated rods inserted into arcuate recesses in metallic portions of the wheels.
Combatting Car Theft, AAA World, November/December 1994, pp. 30-31, discloses a number of motor vehicle anti-theft devices, including the use of an electronically read pellet on the ignition key that is required to start the engine.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention is an anti-theft system for motor vehicles, having one preferred embodiment. The preferred embodiment is designed to prevent theft by preventing a vehicle""s rotor discs from turning when the system is activated. In the embodiment, there are inhibitors inside of the disc rotors of each wheel. Next to each wheel, there is a solenoid, within which is a locking pin or piston rod. When the user enters an activation coded key in the ignition keypad, the solenoids are energized, causing the piston rods to move outward into the spaces in the disc rotors between the inhibitors, thus preventing the wheels from turning. A deactivation code must be entered in the ignition keypad to de-energize the solenoids, causing the piston rods to move back into the solenoids and releasing the wheels. Optionally, the parking brake may also be locked when the system is activated.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a more effective means of preventing motor vehicle theft, by an improved method for locking the wheel of a vehicle.
It is another object of the invention to combine the improved method for locking the wheels of a vehicle with means for locking the vehicle""s brakes.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a more effective means for preventing motor vehicle theft, by an improved method for locking the brakes of a vehicle.
Still another object of the invention is to combine improved methods of locking the wheels and/or brakes of a vehicle with a means of activating and/or deactivating the anti-theft system through entry of a secret code.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.